A curious New Begining
by invalid92
Summary: Ash Misty and Brock meet up with team rocket again. But this time, something is different about them...    Rocket Shippy. Plus a little Ash x Misty. Third person omniscient. No real point in time in the series. Use your imagination.
1. Chapter 1

On their way back from a frightening ordeal on Cinnabar island, Ash and his friends find themselves trapped in a storm.

"This is all your fault Ash, if you hadn't insisted on setting out right away I could be safe and warm on the island still." Misty was clearly not happy.

"Lay off him will ya? It's not his fault he wanted to go home. How long has it been since you've visited your family?" Brock understood why Ash wanted to visit his mom. He missed his family too.

"I could care less about my spoiled sisters. I certainly wouldn't risk getting caught in a freaking tornado to see them."

"Oh it's not that bad. Look, I can see the clouds clearing up over that way." Ash was always trying to look for the bright side of things.

The gang started to run at what looked like a slightly less stormy region up ahead. "Hey! Look!" Misty pointed to the top of a hill where a small cabin sat nestled between the trees.

"Finally. Maybe someone will let us in out of this mess." Said Brock.

As the three kids approached the cozy little cabin, the storm started to wane into a light drizzle. Ash could barely make out a figure standing out on the porch. "Hey, it looks like someone's home!" He breathed a sigh of relief. Ash always assumed the best of strangers, it never occurred to him that the people living in that cabin might be axe murderers. Being a girl, Misty was a little more hesitant to approach the figure.

"Guys, wait up!" Misty called as the boys ran up to the porch. "Oof." Misty bumped into a surprised Ash who had stopped dead in his tracks. "Very funny ash, you nearly broke my nose! I hope you're happy with yourself, you-"

At this point all three of the kids immediately recognized the figure. I knew I recognized this cabin from somewhere. Ash wanted to smack himself for not remembering who it belonged to.

"Oh crap, it's team rocket, hide Pikachu." Brock said as he rolled his eyes and awaited the familiar old speech he hated so much.

"Pikah..." Pikachu noticed something was different. In fact, things were very different now.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ash?" Ash made a curious face. Did James just call me ASH?

Something certainly was different. Jessie was wearing black gauchos and a blue tank top. Certainly more comfy that her usual getup. James was just wearing some plaid pijama pants. They were standing at the railing, James behind Jessie with his arms wrapped around her shoulders. They looked so calm and relaxed.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jessie asked, sounding genuinely curious. Not in her demeaning way she usually did.

"Uh, we got caught in the storm and-"

"Oh where are my manners? You guys are soaked please, come in." Jessie was kind of scaring them.

What do they have up their sleeves this time? Lull us into a false sense of security then...

Jessie sensed his hesitation. "Please, don't worry, it's fine, really." Jessie sounded so sincere.

James laughed. "Yeah, Giovanni's dead. It's all over." James was overcome with a profound sense of calm and happiness. Relief. It was visible on both of them.

"Huh?" The gang gasped. "He's dead? ... Well, uh, I'm sorry for your loss." Ash knew that Giovanni was really the only father figure they had ever had. Their apparent happiness confused him all the more.

Jessie cocked her head and let out a quick sigh. "I will never understand you Ash Ketchum. After everything we put you though you still think to say a nice thing like that. Your mom aught to be proud."

Ash smiled. Jessie has just complimented him. And it was a truly nice thing to say too. Jessie's energy seemed almost maternal... It was weirding him out.

James opened up the door. "Please, come in, I'll get you guys something dry to wear."

The gang hesitantly went in. Pikachu closely held in Ash's arms. They entered into a lovely little kitchen that smelled of sandalwood.

"I was just making pancakes, are you guys hungry?" Jessie looked beautiful. She had a very honest beauty. Her hair was down loose with no products in it, and she had on no makeup. She was just so naturally pretty today.

Brock blushed at this thought. "Actually yeah, I'm starving."

Soon enough the five of them were sitting at the table having a nice hot meal. Misty felt like she was swimming in Jessie's pajamas. She didn't nearly have the womanly curves that Jessie had. Brock and Ash fit okay into James's clothes. They were actually quite comfortable. It felt good to have a proper breakfast.

"So what brings you guys back to this area?" Asked James as he handed misty a hot cup of coffee which she gratefully accepted.

"Well we were just returning from Cinnabar Island and we were going to to visit Pallet town when we got caught in the storm." Ash explained.

"Then we saw this cabin and thought someone might let us in." Said Brock.

"But we totally forgot that you guys had a place in this area. We had no idea it was you!" said Misty.

"Well it's good it was." laughed James "In a random cabin out in the woods like this you guys are lucky we're not axe murderers!"

Misty almost spat out her coffee laughing. Not only did she think that exact though earlier, but it was Team Rocket. Normally that would be just as bad. Then she wondered what is was about Giovanni's death that changed them so much. There had to be more to it...

"So what are you guys going to do now that Giovanni is gone?" Asked Misty "Are you still working for Team Rocket?"

James sighed as he thought back to that moment, just yesterday, when he and Jessie learned of Giovanni's assassination.


	3. Chapter 3

The Team Rocket Trio happily entered Tem Rocket headquarters with a small batch of pokemon they had just captured in a successful heist.

"It might not be pikachu, but it certainly is something." James Beamed. "I think he'll really like these ones."

Their whole lives Jessie and James wanted Giovanni's approval. They always had to compete for his affection, which they expected from the man who adopted them at such young ages.

James had been on the streets when Giovani found his and his Growlithe. At the tender age of 6 he was rifiling through garbage when Giovanni stopped the car and took him in. After running away, James did not want anyone to know where he really came from, so he said he was an orphan. As far as he was concerned, he was. Except for Growlie.

Jessie actually was an orphan. Her parents has passed away and she was living in an orphanage. Giovanni saw great promise in her when he witnessed her bullying the other kids around. He adopted a handful of children in orger to train them to be great fighters and possible heirs to team rocket. He was, afterall getting old, an d he needed at least one good protege to count on. All the other members were idiots and he wanted to see to it himself that he had someone down the road that would be as smart and strong of a leader as he was.

Of course, Jessie and James didn't exactly turn out like he wanted. They didn't fit in with the other kids. James remembered how the other boys would tease hium and call him a whimp. He was never into the same things as the other boys. He never felt the need to try and act tough and manly.

Jessie's situation was similar. All she wanted to do was play sports with the boys and she never really cared to play dress up or dolls with the other girls.

Even as children, the two of them never really cared what other people thought or what was considered proper behavior for their gender. James even says now _Gender is no different than skin colour, it doesn't define who you are._

There was even one moment on the playground before they really knew the difference between boys and girls that they decided that James must also be a girl because he fit in with them better. But he knew he cared for Jessie even then. When he asked one of the older kids, he told him at girls who like girls are called lesbians.

The next day the nanny said "Well hi james. Who is your little friend?" When they came up to the door hand in hand.

The child replied. "This is Jessie. We're lesbians."

The nanny was on the floor with laughter. She laughed so hard she cried.

The kids just shrugged and walkd away. They didn't really understand or care. They were used to being laughed at.

As the two walked down the huge entrance room to the headquarters, one of Giovanni's servants came running up to them. In James's memory, the moment was blurry. It was as if he was watching himself with the others from above, not hearing the exact words exchanged, but feeling his stomach sink. He watched himself push past the slight woman and run into Giovanni's office where nothing but a spash of blood on the desk remained. His body had already been removed.

He stood in stunned silence as the bags in the hands dropped to the floor. It was true. He was dead.

"Who... Who did this?" Asked a stunned James to no one in particular.

Jessie slowly approached him from behind with a suddenly quiet meowth trailing behind her and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Well who's in charge now huh? I'll bet it's Richard. He was always Giovanni's favorite, even when we were kids, I'll b-"

"James." Jessi stopped him right there in a quiet voice. Her glistening eyes looked right through him. "We're _not_ kids anymore."

And just then, everything was okay. They no longer needed to answer to him, no longer needed to feel obligated to him, to serve him. He was gone. _Relief._

Then, out of nowhere, (as it seemed to meowth) the two turned to eachother and kissed more passionately that the pokemon had ever seen, even in the movies.

His heart sank. He knew what this meant. Team rocket would nevr be the same. "So what, you're just gonna give up on Team Rocket just like that? Now he's dead you're just gonna pretend like we were never a family?"

"Meowth whaat are you talking about? We're still a family." Said Jessie

"Humph. Well were're not _that _kind of family. You know the new boss would never allow somethin like that goin on. He'd split us up! You know that!"

"Who says we need to work for Team Rocket? We can still be a team!" Said James.

"Yous guys just don't get it do ya? Team Rocket is a part of our family. That's what brought us togeda!"

"And I'm glad they did, but Meowth, you know how it was for us. We only worked for them because Giovanni made us. I could care less about taking over the world. I just want to live my own life!" Jessie bagan crying. She knew where this was going.,

"Oh... I see how it is. If yous guys don't care about the one goal we've been working for our whole lives then I guess I don't need ya." Meowth stormed out of the room.

"Meowth!" Meowth slammed the door less than an inch from Jessie's face. It was over.

"I was not expecting that reaction from him..."

"I wasn't expecting any of this!" Jessie was frustrated. "Well... Most of it anyway." Jessie and James moved closer and held eachother.

"I'm so glad you feel the same way. Whe I heared Giovanni was gone I just knew that it meant..."

"I could finally admit to you..."

"...What I've wanted to since the day we met."

"James!" They kissed passionately again. A tearful Jessie looked up at a glowing James as said what he had been wanting to hear for years. "Let's just go home."

When Jessie and James went home that night, everything was different. They didn't go to their separate rooms. They didn't make a corny joke when they started feeling awkward. They didn't avoid eye contact whenever one of them thought something indecent. They didn't daydream.

They shared James's bed. They shared ALL of their thoughts. And nothing was left to the imagination.


	4. Chapter 4

"So what are you guys going to do now that Giovanni is gone?" Asked Misty "Are you still working for Team Rocket?"

James sighed as he thought back to that moment, just yesterday, when he and Jessie learned of Giovanni's assassination...

"...We don't really know." Said Jessie. "I mean, I had never really given it any serious thought before yesterday. I guess I've always kind of dreamt of taking care of the forests so wild pokemon could live in peace. Maybe even breed some of the rare pokemon to insure their survival."

The three kids were stunned. Jessie? Raising pokemon? What a weird thought! Ash likened the thought to an Arbok raising mice. Just didn't seem natural.

Just then, as if to prove a point, a little sleepy face appeared in the doorway.

"I didn't know you had a Bidoof!" Misty was enamored with the little guy. He was a bit smaller than most Bidoof.

"How come we never battled him before?" Asked Ash.

James approached the little guy and scratched its head. "Captain Bob's a lover, not a fighter." The Bidoof smiled and cooed at his caretaker.

"And besides, look how puny it is. He'd never win a single battle!" Chuckled Jessie. "We would never bother to take him back to headquarters. They'd laugh us out of the building!"

"Oh please Jessie you love him just as much as I do." James chucked.

"We found him wandering around on the beach. Miles from any Bidoof village. We tried to capture it but he would just not stay in a pokeball."

Pikachu and Bidoof appeared to be having a conversation. Pikachu never wasted time making friends with like-minded pokemon.

"Meowth always hated Captain Bob. Always trying to trip him and get him in trouble..." James chuckled. "I think he was jealous."

"Hm? Where is Meowth?" Asked Misty.

Jessie looked troubled. "I don't know. After we dropped out of the gang, Meowth stormed off. He's still loyal to Team Rocket."

"So does this mean you're not affiliated with them anymore?" Asked Brock

"Mhm."

"For good?" Asked Misty

"Mhm."

"Really?" Asked Brock

"Mhm."

"Really really?" Asked Ash

"Yes" laughed James. "we only worked for team rocket to please Giovanni. We never really wanted any of those things. Unfortunately, Meowth is still hell bent on ruling the world."

Jessie sighed. "I don't know when that cat is going to grow up."

"Well he's going to have to come back some time, he does have all his things here still." said James

"I'm sure he'll show up soon" said Misty, who by now was patting Captian Bob and feeding him Bidoof food from a jar on the counter.

"DOOF!" Captain Bob agreed.

"Well, your clothes should probably be dry by now, I'll go check on them." Jessie got up and left the room.

James looked lost in thought. "I don't know what I'm going to say to him when I see him next. But I miss him. I guess he has to choose between us and team rocket... Doesn't seem fair though."

"Well if he's really your friend he'll understand that you don't want to be involved in that anymore." Said Ash

"Let's hope..."

Jessie stood in the doorway looking very defeated. She was holding up Ash's shirt. It was tiny. It looked like it would fit Pikachu better than Ash. There she was trying to be all maternal and domestic and she couldn't even do laundry right. She looked like she was ready to cry.

Ash was kind of disappointed that his clothes were messed up, but Jessie was probably more upset than he was. He laughed "Wow Jessie, you brought us some pokemon clothes! And they look just like mine!"

Jessie smiled and brought the pile over to the table. Pikachu jumped into the basket and when he emerged, he was dressed like Ash. "Pika! Pika CHU!" He was imitating Ash throwing a pokeball.

Everyone was doubled over in laughter when suddenly,

"Hey! This is the perfect excuse to go shopping!" Said James, a little too excited.


	5. Chapter 5

Today has been such a good day thought Misty. First we become friends with Team Rocket and now they're buying us new clothes!

Everyone tried on all kinds of silly things. The nearest place was a weird little everything-goes boutique. James's favorite.

At one point Ash even put on a Combusken costume. Pikachu laughed so hard he cried. Pikachu was still wearing Ash's jacket and Captain Bob was wearing Brock's vest. He let him keep it. It fit him nicely.

Misty squealed from the accessories section. "Guys come see!" She had found a children's sailor cap that fit Captain Bob perfectly. It really completed his look.

"Doof! Doof!" Bob was very pleased with it.

"Hey! Check me out!" Brock was wearing a neon purple tuxedo.

"Wow, brock you look handsome!" Said Misty

"Of course I do" said Brock looking pleased. He backed up and adjusted the bow tie in the mirror "Is my tie on straight?"

Jessie laughed. It wasn't even tied properly. "Yeah, about as straight as James."

"Hm?" James came over from the other dressing room in a yellow kimono "Yeah, you might wanna..." he came over and adjusted it properly. Brock blushed.

What's with this guy? Does he like dudes or chicks? I could have sworn he was in love with Jessie... Unless of course he swings both ways... Brock tried to literally shake the idea from his head. He didn't like where this train of thought was going.

James smiled. He took great pride in being able to make a straight boy blush.

"But really guys, I think I found the perfect outfit for me!" Misty came out of a dressing room in a black long skirted dress with a silver belt at the waist and a purple top. It was practical, yet pretty. In fact, she looked beautiful in it. So much more mature. It was obvious she was growing up, and this change of attire came just in time. Her old outfit wasn't really fitting anymore. (And between her and Jessie, this outfit came complete with a bra.)

Ash blushed. "That looks great."

"Yeah, you look hot!" Jessie approved. "But we need to find the right shoes. Your old sneakers would ruin it."

Misty gasped. "Oh gosh I hadn't even though of the shoes!"

The girls went off to the shoe section discussing what style would look good and be functional. Jessie was the perfect person to get advice from on kicking ass and looking good doing it.

After the girls disappeared James asked Ash "So do you like her or what?"

"Whaa?" Ash was blindsided by his frankness. "Well I uh-"

Brock laughed. "Are you kidding? Those two can barely stand each other!"

Ash was blushing. "Mhmm..." Said James knowingly.

After playing dress-up, everyone picked out some suitable clothing. Ash got a black t-shit and a blue vest that was similar to his old jacket. But it was more of a pullover. Brock found a brown jacket with plenty of pockets in it to keep all kinds of pokemon supplies.

Ash was hopeful about their future relationship with the former Team Rocket. They were obviously older and a little more... mature, but everyone had so much fun. He could really see them all being friends.

He just couldn't help but wonder what made Team Rocket such a tight knit group. What had their lives been like before this? Were they really bad or did they just do bad things because they were forced to? Do people ever really choose to be bad, or does it just kind of happen? Even after everything they did, Ash never really held it against them. Maybe he knew deep down they were really good people.

It comforted him to think that maybe underneath it all, people really are good. Sometimes it just takes a little work to get there. Maybe years of being misunderstood and labeled as troublemakers made them that way. If you call someone something for long enough, they will become just that. Unless they're strong enough too realize their situation and choose to be better than that.

It's kind of a sign of weakness, to be that easily manipulated. Ash recalled times when he was bullied and put down. But he didn't let it change him. It made him stronger and even more determined to do good. To prove them wrong. Maybe that's the true difference between good and bad. The ability to let the ugly parts of the world take up all the room in your head. People like that just need a friend, a home, a family. With all of that in perspective, Ash was starting to see why Jessie and James were they way they were.

_They have an almost childlike dependency on each other. I guess that's because they never really had a childhood._


	6. Chapter 6

On their way back from the store, the boys were getting hungry.

"Is it lunch time yet?" Asked James

Jessie sighed. "Well I guess I could whip us up something to eat. Are you guys hungry?" She asked the kids

"Sure am. All that shopping made me hungry." Said Brock

"But we should be quick though, I told mom I'd be in Pallet Town by sundown." Ash clearly missed his mom. It was kind of cute.

"Aw, little Ash misses his mommy!" Misty stuck out her tongue at him.

"Oh Misty would you give up o-"

Before Brock could finish, all hell broke loose. A huge Steelix came barreling towards them through the trees and a swarm of beedrils came toward them like a bullet.

Everyone started rifiling through their pockets for their pokemon. Arbok, Koffing, Pikachu, Starmie, and Onix were out right away.

Onix and Pikachu narrowly dodged a Rock Tomb from Steelix.

Pikachu used thunderbolt to stop the Beedril. Most of them fell but some of them were pretty tough. Not too tough of Koffing though.

It wasn't long before Starmie had Steelix drenched and Arbok had it poisoned. It didn't stand a chance against all of their pokemon. And they still had more.

It was pretty scary, and the Steelix definitely had the element of surprise, but the trainers pulled it off. With the five of them all working together, they were unstoppable.

"Wow..." Ash looked over the forest floor covered with pokemon.

"What just happened?" Misty called back her Starmie.

"How did that Steel-"

Before Jessie Could finish, she saw something run through the bushes and immediately chased after it. James noticed too. He recognized those claws sloppily scraping against the dirt as a certain cowardly pokemon scrambled off into the woods.

Eventually Jessie and James caught up with it. James drove and wrapped his arms around the small pokemon. James and Meowth hit the forest floor with a thud.

"Eeeeh..." Meowth rubbed his head as he got up.

"Meowth, what are you doing?"

"My job! This is your last chance guys, either come back to Team Rocket or prepare to be neutralized!"

"What?" They said in unison

"You didn't think we'd let ya just walk away did ya?"

"What are you talking about we're no-" But James did know what he was talking about. With all of the information the two of them had, they could take down all of Team Rocket if they wanted to. It would be easy.

"But Meowth, we wouldn't do that, you know that."

"Yeah, I know that, and so did Giovanni, but he's dead and I'm a lowly Meowth. What do you expect them to think? If it hadn't been for those twerps I would have had yous guys six feet unda by now..."

They were stunned. "I... I don't know what to say. I thought we were a family."

"Well so did I. But I guess there's really no such thing is there?" Meowth was clearly deeply hurt. It was hard to believe that all this time, it wasn't really them that he loved, but the power. To him, it was their common goal that brought them together, not their friendship. Certainly nothing like what Jessie and James shared.

James became angry. "Well I guess it's true what they say." He said quietly. "You can never really trust a pokemon. You're nothing but an animal." James had a way of knowing just how to hurt someone with his words when he was angry.

James stormed off, and Meowth scurried away into the forest. Jessie just stood there. Alone... What was she going to do now? She didn't even know how to process what had just happened. She suddenly felt more alone than she ever had in her whole life.

Just as she was ready to fall to pieces, a comforting hand touched her shoulder. It was Misty. And behind her were Ash, Brock, Pikachu and Captain Bob. She wasn't alone. Then she realized it was one thing to have good friends, but it was entirely different to have friends who were truly good people. People that would stay beside you no matter what their agenda.

They heard the whole thing. Jessie gave a weak smile. "Thank you." she said softly. Everyone smiled warmly except Pikachu and Captain Bob. "James didn't mean what he said about pokemon, he was just trying to hurt Meowth's feelings. He's good a pinpointing a person's biggest insecurity."

"Pikaah..." Pikachu reluctantly agreed. He knew he didn't mean it. The thing that bothered Pikachu was the fact that Meowth was so loyal to an organization that degraded pokemon and used them like tools. Everything Pikachu stood for was threatened by Team Rocket. The only reason Pikachu loves Ash is because he isn't like other trainers. He respects his wishes and treats him like an equal. He remembered the time when he and Bulbasaur didn't want to evolve. Even though it would have been to Ash's advantage, he still encouraged them to follow their hearts. It was that moment in the pokecenter when Ash let Pikachu decide for himself if he wanted to evolve that Pikachu knew he truly loved Ash. Ash changed Pikachu's mind about humans.

He changed Jessie's too.


	7. Chapter 7

_ This is fucking bullshit. At what point did I completely miss the fact that he could care less about me? How is it that everyone in my life- everyone uses me. My own parents don't even care about me. What is it about me that makes people try to use me for their own benefit? Could I have made better choices in life? If I had stayed with my parents, I would be even more miserable. If I hadn't joined team rocket, I would have grown up on the streets. How was I supposed to know that the decisions I made before I was even a decade old would affect the rest of my life like this? The only good thing I ever did was team up with Jessie. She's the only person who gives a crap about me._

James was pacing back and forth in the kitchen. He was just so_ angry._ Maybe Meowth was right, maybe there was no such thing as family. Not for him.

Soon enough, in came Jessie, Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Brock, and Captain Bob.

James wiped a tear from his eye and sighed. _I'm not going to let other people control me anymore. I'm in charge of my future. I can do what I want with it._

"So Meowth and Team Rocket are after you? What if they attack again? They'll probably be more prepared next time..." Misty was clearly worried.

"Then so will we. When we all work together, there's no stopping us! Did you see what we did there, all together we have tons of skilled pokemon. Nobody can touch us!" Ash was clearly still riled up from the battle.

"Us? Ash, what are you saying? You guys can't always be there to help us." James was confused.

"Well why not? Stick with us and together we can beat Team Rocket." Ash's can-do spirit just never let up.

"Why would you want us with you? We'd only cause you more trouble. Haven't we done enough?" James just did not understand how Ash could be so forgiving. "How can you be so nice to us after everything we've done?"

"Well... I don't know." Ash hadn't really thought about it. It was just in his nature to protect good people when they were in danger. It was all very clear to him. Two good people were being hunted down by a huge organization. It wasn't fair. Someone had to stand up against the bad guys.

"We're pokemon trainers, trouble will always be close behind. We're used to battles and stuff. Facing off against the bad guy. It's nothing new." Brock was on board with Ash's idea.

_These guys are just kids. I guess being a pokemon trainer is the surest way to mess up your childhood. Looks like we have something in common._ Jessie was starting to understand. "It's not like we're helpless James. We're pretty good trainers ourselves. These guys probably want to take down team Rocket just as badly as we do. If we work together, we'll be much more likely to succeed."

James looked unsure. "Well I guess if we have the same general goal..."

"Before you say anything else, you need to know something. We don't want you to come with us just so we can use you to take down Team Rocket. We're not like them. We like you for who you are. It's obvious that you're really nice people. " Misty wanted to make this very clear. "Sure you guys could help us get what we want, but what we really want is to see you guys happy. You deserve to be."

Brock and Ash nodded. "Pikah!" Pikachu agreed too.

Jessie and James were both starting to tear up. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." James was starting to see it too. Just because some people treated you badly, doesn't mean that they're all bad. It was up to him to decide what kind of people to surround himself with. Then he made his first real choice as a truly free man. He chose to let them in. A choice he would not regret.


End file.
